Bisi Bamishe
The National Pension Commission (PENCOM), has reported that the country’s pension assets rose by 3.43 per cent in the past three months under review.
According to the regulatory body of the industry, pension assets rose from N13.42 trillion it closed in December 2021.
The assets rose to N13.88 trillion in March, from N13.76 trillion in the previous, indicating 0.87 per cent month-on-month growth.
The report showed that N8.5 trillion, representing 61.24 per cent of the funds was invested in Federal Government securities, comprising bonds and treasury bills during the period under review.
Pension assets were also invested in domestic and foreign ordinary shares; corporate debt securities comprising corporate bonds, corporate infrastructure bonds, corporate green bonds, and supranational bonds.
Also, PenCom reported that the total number of workers with Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA), rose slightly to 9.589 million as at the end of February, from 9.529 million as at end of December 2021.
It stated that 131,376 workers who retired from active service could not be placed on monthly pension as at the end of 2021.Figures obtained from PenCom showed that the affected workers had received all the contributions in their Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA) totalling N32.58 billion, having quit the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
According to PenCom, the affected retirees had below N550,000 as the balance in their RSAs which did not qualify them to be enrolled under the two retirement options of annuity and programmed withdrawal
